


Mistletoe

by cokebottlesanddenim



Category: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Multi, Mutual Pining, but i dont want to clog up the character tag with them, there's other characters mentioned in passing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25232161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cokebottlesanddenim/pseuds/cokebottlesanddenim
Summary: prompt: I’ve been getting paid to set couples up by casting mistletoe above their heads but now someone requested you but i kinda-maybe-sorta have a crush on you what dO I DO?
Relationships: Jae Kim/Chiara Lobosca
Kudos: 28





	Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> written for plasticdodecagon on tumblr, who is an amazing writer and I 100% recommend checking out their work!!

“Hey, you’re Jae Kim, right?” 

Jae looked up from the homework he had spent the better part of the evening trying to finish, twisting in his chair to see who was addressing him. He had been thoroughly engrossed in methods to artificially expand his essay length, and hadn’t noticed that someone in the common room had approached him from behind. A girl, whom he recognized as a younger student in his house, was standing very close behind the back of the chair, looking up at him anxiously. Jae raised an eyebrow at her inquiry.

“Depends on who’s asking,” he said, although he set down the essay he was working on and shuffled the chair around to give her his full attention. He wasn’t really getting anywhere with that essay anyways, and business always came first.

“I heard you’re the guy to go to when you need to buy something,” she responded. She seemed to be trying to maintain a cool, confident aura, but was noticeably twisting the hem of her skirt, and her eyes frequently darted across the common room to see if any prefects were privy to their discussion. It was clear that whatever she was asking for wasn’t just something uncommon or difficult to acquire, but quite possibly banned and dangerous. This only piqued his interest further. 

Jae nodded silently and leaned forward, allowing her to continue their conversation in quieter tones. The girl however clammed up, now blushing furiously at the premise of her request. Jae waited for her to continue, but she had become paralyzed by nervousness and embarrassment. After a few tense moments of suspenseful silence, Jae coughed impatiently, and the girl was forced to quickly gather herself.

“I need… mistletoe”

Jae let out a short laugh. He’d honestly expected (and maybe hoped for) something a little more scandalous than a common winter weed. November hadn’t even ended yet, and he’d already developed a readily available stash of mistletoe. It was a common solicitation, especially around Christmas, as everyone from giggling first years to avid potioneers were in need of that good leaf.

“Yeah, it’s 5 sickles a bundle, but I can offer cheaper prices if you pay in bulk,” Jae said as he rose from his seat. “I have some upstairs actually, I could go get it right now.” He made to move towards the boys’ dormitory, but the girl suddenly grabbed his arm. She was blushing scarlet again and fervently shaking her head no. Jae paused in his gait, confused by her recantation.

“No, not yet, it’s not even December,” she said in a harsh whisper. “I don’t want to look desperate.” Jae’s brow furrowed. As far as he was concerned, mistletoe was the epitome of desperation, a cheap device for cowards to make a romantic move when they usually wouldn’t bother otherwise. And as far as the Hogwarts staff was concerned, late November was certainly not too early to start decorating the castle for yuletide festivities. A little mistletoe wouldn’t seem inappropriate this time of year.

“I mean, it keeps fairly well, and you should probably buy now before demand goes up,” Jae said, now shifting into full peddler mode, ready to make a sale. 

“Oh, no, I’ll buy it now, I have the money,” the girl said, shoving her fist into her pocket and retrieving a handful of silver and gold coins, far more than Jae’s asking price. “But I have another request, and I wasn’t sure if it was something you could do.” Jae eyed the coins in her hand. They were easily worth over 4 times the price of a sprig of mistletoe, and he had admittedly done some really shady stuff for a lot less money. He looked at her expectantly and gestured for her to elaborate. She took a deep breath and looking around the room again before continuing in a rapid undertone “would you be able to actually levitate the mistletoe when I need you to, so it’s there at the exact place and time I want to set it up? I’ll pay you more, if you do it.” She shook the handful of coins gently to emphasize her eagerness. Jae was almost tempted to make fun of her nervousness and desperation to get a measly Christmas kiss under extremely choreographed circumstances, but thought better of it. There were absolutely no downsides to this proposal. 

Jae took the handful of coins she was offering and pocketed them, and the girl beamed up at him graciously. “Okay,” he said, moving back to his chair and settling himself comfortably, a telltale merchant’s gleam in his eye, “what’s the plan?”

It had been a week since Jae had stood around the corner and conjured mistletoe above the Gryffindor girl and her unsuspecting crush, but the rousing success of the adorable occurrence had spread throughout his house, and shortly thereafter, the castle. People were quick to pick up on Jae’s involvement in the transaction, and although he had intended for this to be a one-time thing, he found himself flooded with similar matchmaking requests. Jae wasn’t especially proud of serving as a sort of voyeuristic Christmas cupid for off-guard couples, but he had been offered more money in the past week than he would usually make in the whole Christmas season any other year. Most of the requests came from one half of the intended couple, but a fair few came as a surprise from their friends, pranksters, or self-proclaimed matchmakers. Andre, who prided himself on being a notorious meddler in romantic affairs, had single-handedly served as the patron for several unknowing couples that he had personally deemed suitable for each other.

“If you’re free this week, I’ve got a few more couples for you,” Andre said with no preamble, catching Jae in the corridor immediately after Defense Against the Dark Arts. He already had a handful of galleons at the ready to pay upfront, which Jae eyed wearily. There was a difference between setting up strangers in other houses and classes, and setting up his friends and classmates. The latter always made him feel far more complicit, even if he didn’t especially agree with the pairing. Even though Andre was personally financing these budding relationships, Jae was still instrumental in every arrangement, and each successive couple struck him with more unease than the last. At first this had been a harmless business venture, but the effects were starting to trickle into his everyday life. He’d like to go just one class without seeing a blushing, flirting, hand-holding couple he had been partially responsible for pushing together. It was too much power for him to wield, and it was also kind of yucky. 

Andre continued despite Jae’s noted silence, taking it as a cue to continue with his amorous agenda. “If you choose to accept, which I know you will,” Andre chuckled as he shoved Jae playfully. Jae shrugged and continued to walk with no comment. “I was thinking Lee and Khanna, Ali and Winger, and Parkin and Haywood. You up to it?”

“Thinking of? They’re your classmates and friends, not dolls to push together and say ‘now kiss’“ Jae said dubiously, struggling to hide his mounting irritation with Andre’s manipulative ways. Jae had thought he was the one with no moral qualms to make ends meet, but Andre had spent the better part of 2 weeks besting him in that department.

“On the contrary, that’s exactly what they are, and that’s exactly what I’m doing,” Andre said smugly. “They’re already perfect couples, they just need a little nudge to realize it for themselves. You and me, we’re doing everyone a favor.” The pair had reached the doors to the Great Hall, where the clatter and chatter of lunchtime could be heard inside. Andre winked and pushed the gold coins into Jae’s hand before turning to walk towards the Ravenclaw table. Jae watched him go, eyed the handful of galleons in his hand, and groaned loudly before making his way into the hall.

“You’re at the wrong table, Jae,” Chiara said blithely, as Jae dropped himself in the seat across from her at the Hufflepuff table. He was still pretty annoyed with Andre’s attitude, and it showed in his expression and demeanor.

“I wear enough yellow to get away with it,” Jae said with a shrug as he reached for the sandwich platter sitting between them. He was aware he sounded far more terse than he’d like to around Chiara and cringed. She didn’t deserve to be at the receiving end of his bad mood.

“I thought you said it was gold,” Chiara said with a smirk, and Jae’s face broke into a small grin. Just being around Chiara was usually enough to lift his spirits, no matter the circumstances, and he knew he was lucky to have her in his life. What had initially started out as a strictly professional exchange of rare goods had grown into one of his most cherished friendships. If only all of his business transactions had such rewarding outcomes. No, scratch that. MC alone was far more than he had ever banked on, and sometimes almost more than he could handle.

“I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be super accepting of all people, regardless of their affiliations,” Jae teased, pouring himself juice. “Since when did you get so stingy about your company?”

“I could ask the opposite of you, matchmaker,” Chiara responded, flashing him a mischievous grin. “From what I hear, every date planned in the last 2 weeks was under your influence. You’re basically everyone’s third wheel.” Jae blushed a little, mortified that she was so informed of his dealings, and buried his face in his drink to hide it. It was hardly a secret what he had been up to recently, but hearing it from sweet, naive Chiara only made the situation more agitating. Chiara seemed to recognize his discomfort, and she dialed back her mocking tone. “So with all that extra mistletoe money, are you finally going to get me a nice Christmas present? Or will it be the usual 5% discount on wolfsbane?” she asked, now sounding more playful than derisive. Jae smiled again despite himself.

“I can offer you 7% off this year, a token of our friendship and customer loyalty,” Jae said, raising his glass to her in a mock toast. Chiara laughed,and Jae was struck by how genuinely sweet and melodic it sounded. He shook the notion from his head to see Chiara beaming radiantly at him. She raised her own glass in response, a cheers to a friendship she held just as dear.

Hogwarts was surprisingly well-populated during the Christmas holidays that year. Even though classes and clubs weren’t in session, the corridors and courtyards were always filled with people, rosy-cheeked from the chill outside and giddy about the approaching holiday. There was more than enough mistletoe decking the halls of the castle to put Jae out of business, but in spite of that the requests continued to pour in. With the 25th fast approaching, the demand for yuletide smooches grew so much that he found himself conjuring mistletoe for several couples a day. Now running out of friends to set up, Andre had considerably slowed down his requests, and Jae was grateful that he hadn’t been approached by him since before the break started.

That bliss was broken abruptly when Andre seated himself opposite Jae at the Gryffindor table at dinner, his face lit up with the prospect of creating Hogwarts’ latest unsuspecting combination. Jae shot him a withering look of exasperation, and for the first time, Andre took notice of Jae’s attitude and seemed apologetic for his constant demands.

“Hey, hey, I know I’ve kept you busy these past few weeks, but this is the last one, I promise,” Andre insisted, his hands held up in surrender. “After this, you can set up whoever you want without my financial influence.” Jae grumbled noncommittally and continued to prod at his food, but his appetite had evaporated the minute Andre had sat down.

“Good, because I’m down to my last sprig,” Jae said. It was true, and surprisingly so, considering how much he had stockpiled at the beginning of the season. He had hoped to save it for a set-up worthy of his approval, or at the very least a transaction worthy of his wallet. Whatever Andre was requesting, Jae would be sure to charge him double for it.

“Ok, hear me out. Two of the most popular students in the school, objectively very attractive, in the same house and year, and chemistry so strong you could could even consider it alchemy. This really would be the best set up yet, and a commendable finale to the season,” Andre pitched proudly. Jae looked up from his mostly untouched food, still uncertain and suspicious of Andre’s intent.

“You… and MC?” Jae hazarded a guess. Andre chuckled and shook his head.

“No, mate, Lobosca and Caplan.”

Jae’s stomach dropped out of his body, through the floor, and deep into the kitchens below as he looked at Andre incredulously, hoping he had misheard him.

“Lobosca… Chiara?” he asked uncertainly.

“The one and only” Andre confirmed, grinning contently at his matchmaking masterpiece. A little voice in Jae’s head was screaming no, that he definitely couldn’t do it, but Jae couldn’t exactly piece together his opposition to the plan. Surely Diego and Chiara deserved each other for all of the reasons Andre provided, but this was his best friend they were talking about. She deserved the best of the best, and despite all that Diego amounted to, he still might to be good enough for her.

“It’ll cost you double,” Jae blurted, before coughing to cover up his composure. “There’s a lot of demand for my last sprig, and I’m only selling to the highest bidder.” Andre shrugged and placed several coins on the table between them.

“Double up front, and I’ll pay you extra when the job is done,” Andre said, with an intensity that would suggest he was hiring an assassin and not a mistletoe merchant. 

“You… seem really invested in this,” Jae said, eyeing the money with an unfamiliar feeling of revulsion towards it.

“Trust me, future generations of Lobosca-Caplans will be thanking me forever, and I’m not the only one personally invested in this sale. Chiara requested the mistletoe herself and asked me to relay it to you.” Andre said reassuringly, waving a casual hand as he rose to his feet. “I’ll make sure Chiara and Diego are in the courtyard at the right time, all you have to do is show up and work your magic one last time.” He slapped his hand on the table with a tone of confident finality before turning on his heel to join his peers at the Ravenclaw table. Jae watched him go, the uncomfortable hollow pain still writhing where his stomach used to be. He looked down at the glittering pile of galleons that still sat in the middle of the table. For possibly the first time in his life, Jae found himself to be disgusted and repulsed by the sight of money. He glanced up from the untouched money to see Chiara watching him. She nodded towards Andre at the table behind him and shot Jae a knowing smirk.

Jae suddenly felt violently sick, despite his completely empty stomach. He rose from his table and almost ran out the Great Hall, forgetting the coins completely. Chiara continued to watch him go, her smirk collapsing into a concerned frown. A minute after Jae had left with no signs of returning, she also rose from the her seat. She strode towards the Gryffindor table and swept the abandoned galleons into her pocketwith a deft motion before returning to the Hufflepuff table again.

Jae spent the following 20-odd hours doing anything to distract himself. He willingly spent time in the kitchens to clear his head with some recreational cooking. He helped MC try to find the perfect gift for their Weasley friends in the artifact room, which was a short-lived endeavor when they readily settled on a muggle toaster without further consideration. He even tried to put genuine effort into his still-unfinished essay, going so far as to hole himself up in the library for hours, but it was to no avail. Everywhere he looked, he was reminded of his obligation to Andre. Even though Jae had inadvertantly left the money, it was still money paid by the customer, and he had a reputation as a reliable salesman to uphold. He was still unhappy with the idea of Caplan Casanova putting his hands on his best friend, and the sick burning sensation in his stomach had yet to settle down.

This was the mindset Jae still found himself in the following evening in the Clocktower Courtyard. The sky was dark and snow was beginning to softly fall on the grounds, but the entire scene was adequately lit by the warm lights from inside the castle. It made the courtyard glow in muted shades of silver and gold.

The stillness was interrupted as someone entered the courtyard from the castle, and the sound of boots through fresh snow announced the arrival of Chiara. The lights of the castle bounced even more brilliantly of her hair than it did off the surrounding snow, rendering the scene around her dull and lifeless in comparison. Jae, who had let his guard down before she arrived, was quickly spotted lurking in the cloisters.

“Jae? Hey! Jae!” she called brightly, waving him over. Knowing that the gig was up, Jae walked towards her, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his hoodie and his eyes looking at anything but her. His heart was pounding in his chest and his stomach felt as though it was infested with billywigs.

“You’re missing the feast,” Jae said, nodding towards the castle.

“So are you,” Chiara retorted with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I was working, but I’m done now, I think” Jae said. With determination, he pulled his final sprig of mistletoe and pushed it forcefully into Chiara’s hand. Whatever was about to happen with her and Caplan, he couldn’t be a part of it, and he definitely wasn’t going to stick around and watch. “Christmas present, and wolfbane’s on the house this year,” he mumbled, moving to step around her to get back to the castle.

“Your last mistletoe?” Chiara asked, eyes wide as she regarded the delicate leaves and white berries in her hand. “You’re sure you don’t want to use it for something special? Or yourself?”

“No!” Jae whipped around, his voice reverberating slightly around the empty courtyard. “Mistletoe is stupid. It’s for stupid people who are too scared to kiss the stupid people they like. I’m done with the stuff and this stupid tradition. Do whatever you want with it.” He hadn’t meant to snap at Chiara, especially over complicated feelings that were none of his business. She looked taken aback by his outburst, and Jae felt his heart sink even lower at the sight of shock and hurt on her face.

He turned again to head back towards the castle with no intention other than to hide in his dormitory forever, but was held back by a gentle hand on his arm.

“Jae, it’s not what you think,” Chiara said, her eyes looking up at Jae pleadingly. Her hand tightened on Jae’s forearm, and he stilled.

“I’m sorry for yelling. Really, do what you want with the mistletoe. Caplan’s a lucky guy.” Jae sighed, his head hung in humiliation. To his surprise, Chiara let out a bark of laughter.

“Caplan’s not coming, Jae. He has no idea about this and was never even involved. I paid Andre and I knew you wouldn’t resist the money.” She reached into her pocket and pushed the galleons Jae had left behind into his hands with the same force he had applied to the mistletoe in her’s. “It’s a set-up, you absolute dummy.” 

Jae looked at her, dumbfounded. His stomach had stopped burning, but the fluttering in his stomach and pounding in his heart seemed to have picked up tenfold. Before he could even gather his thoughts, Chiara had thrust her hand into the air, holding the mistletoe high above their heads before leaning forward and kissing Jae swiftly on the cheek.

“There, I used the mistletoe how I wanted,” she declared pointedly. She sounded proud of herself, but even in the muted light of the courtyard she was clearly blushing scarlet. Jae still appeared to be catatonic, but a red blush was also starting to creep its way up his face. “But since you said it’s stupid,” she gripped the leaves tightly in her first, crushing them, “and that it’s for cowards-”

She was cut off by Jae suddenly closing the gap between them, silencing her with a gentle but earnest kiss. She froze in surprise, but responded by wrapping her arms around his neck, letting the ruined mistletoe fall into the snow behind him. Jae, caught up in her embrace, dropped the coins she had handed him, and they landed on the frosted courtyard with muted clinks. She laughed gleefully against his lips, and he couldn’t resist the wide smile that made its way across his face.

“Merry Christmas, Jae.”


End file.
